Mob Groups In To Kill A Mockingbird

When in a group or a mob, people tend to act differently: stronger, stern, bigger than if they were to be there without the people around them. All the other people around them help hide their weakness, but sometimes those people are weak on the inside, and can be easily made insecure. Groups usually try to back each other up to make the target feel smaller and weaker, but sometimes they can be easily defeated. In the book “To Kill a Mocking Bird” on example of a group of people is when Calpurnia took Jem and Scout to the First Purchase church.(The one for the black population.) When Jem and Scout got there, someone who was Lula told Calpurnia that she wasn’t supposed to bring white kids to the church and from even just her saying that it gave Jem and Scout a feeling from not belonging there. Jem suggested that they should go home because they weren’t welcome there. Scout felt that from the people that she/they were being advanced upon. After that a group of coloured people were there, but they were friendly and invited them in. It doesn’t always have to be lots of people to make someone feel insecure. Another time in the book where there was a mob or a group of people was when Atticus was sitting outside of the jailhouse. A mob of people wanted to come
and take Tom Robinson from the jail, but Atticus was there to protest against it and talk them into leaving. In the group of people they all seemed to be tough and strong. The group and power of the mob seemed to have made Atticus’ nervous and his hands were trembling a little. By being in such a large group one of the men wasn’t afraid to pick up Jem by his collar which then triggered Scout to kick the man. Scout also wasn’t afraid to say “hi” to Mr. Cunningham which made him feel uncomfortable. Also Atticus didn’t seem to be his usual self with all of those people there, he moved slowly like an old man, and put the paper down carefully. This book seems to say that mobs can be good or bad, and can change the attitude of everyone.
The mob can be of many people line in front of the jailhouse, or like with Lula, she seemed to set the scene herself and be causing all the trouble. In the book the most common way to drain a mob is to make them feel insecure, embarrass them, and prove them wrong. In front of the church Calpurnia told Lula “isn’t it the same God we are worshipping?”. By that it made Lula feel like she was causing trouble and left. In front of the jailhouse Scout asked Mr. Cunningham how is entailment was going which embarrassed him and also by telling him to say “hi” to his son. After that he told everyone to get going and
leave. The power of a mob or a group of people does change the way people act, but it can be for the good or the bad. A mob always tries to make themselves seem to got it all, but like in the two incidents they were defeated easily. In front of the church all Calpurnia had to say was to say that everyone worships the same God which made it look like she was causing trouble and left, and in front of the jailhouse Scout embarrassed Mr. Cunningham by repeating some of his legal affairs to everyone. When Atticus told Jem to go home, Jem wanted to be firm back to him hoping that the mob would agree with him and let him stay. Even though a group of people may seem to be powerful, stern, they maybe week inside and can be easily defeated by saying something that makes them not look the way they were acting .